New malware is making the rounds with Mac users in its sights: Yontoo.1 can download and install an adware browser plug-in to an infected system. Adware for Mac OS X has been increasing since the beginning of this year, according to Doctor Web, the antivirus company that identified Yontoo.1, but so far it is the most prominent of them all.

You just think that's a Chromebook beckoning you with an open source OS, easier upgradeability and fast connections to the cloud. All those qualities could make it a Linux netbook in disguise -- or at least what the netbooks of a few years ago promised before they all started selling preloaded with Windows. The key? More manufacturers buying into the flexibility of the Linux kernel in the Chrome OS.

Apple released a new version of iTunes for Windows and OS X on Thursday, revamping the software's interface, refreshing the look of its store, and enhancing integration with cloud services. It was the software's first major overhaul since September 2010. In user libraries, Apple has abandoned the spreadsheet look in favor of a graphical layout consisting of thumbnails of all media content in the collection.

When Apple announced its executive shakeup this week, there was plenty of news to chew on and make you wonder what happened behind the scenes and why. At the top of the attention list, Scott Forstall, the iOS software group leader, was fired by Apple CEO Tim Cook. What? The head of the operating system of the most wildly acclaimed smartphone of all time -- let go?

Following the lead of competitor VMware last week, Parallels raised the curtain Thursday on a new release of its software for running Windows software on a Mac computer. Parallels Desktop for Mac 8 will run on the latest version of Apple's OS X operating system, 10.8 Mountain Lion, and supports the upcoming release of Microsoft's operating system, Windows 8.

OS X Mountain Lion is crawling with tweaks, new functions and improvements, but for the most part, they're minor adjustments that smooth out the general user experience. One new feature that does stand out, though, is AirPlay mirroring. It can be used to wirelessly connect your Mac with a television. Set it up correctly, and that TV is showing whatever is on your Mac's screen.

Apple's new version of its operating system, OS X Mountain Lion, launched last week in what the company said was the biggest debut for any OS X edition ever, exceeding 3 million downloads in four days. The new OS has more than 200 new features, including enhanced iCloud integration and a greater emphasis on sharing and storing data across multiple Apple devices.

Finally. Apple's latest version of OS X, Mountain Lion, is here. Mountain Lion isn't the biggest or baddest cat ever, but Apple has been getting better and better at delivering incremental innovation that pushes its Mac operating systems forward, connects it to new devices and the world in new ways, and doesn't freak anyone out with radical newness that might might be shiny but ultimately worse than before.

There is the old proverb, "if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain," but in Apple's case it is the Lion that has gone to the Mountain. On Wednesday, Apple released its latest update, Mountain Lion, which picks up where last year's OS X Lion update leaves off. This is the 10th iteration of the Mac operating system since the first public beta appeared in 2000.

Apple's upcoming operating system, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, may be scheduled to land on July 25, according to a recent report. The OS has 200 new features and is designed to seamlessly tie together apps from across Apple's hardware ecosystem. If the rumored date holds true, the operating system will launch the day after Apple announces its latest quarterly earnings report.

When Apple releases the next version of its desktop operating system later this month, there will be glum faces among some owners of older Macs. The company has announced that six Mac models, as well as hoary versions of its defunct Xserve enterprise platform, won't be supported by OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

Apple executives took the stage at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference Monday to unveil a slew of new hardware and software, including a new MacBook Pro with a Retina Display, as well new information about the upcoming iOS 6 and Mac OS X Mountain Lion operating system.

Apple has released its schedule for its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, which will take place in San Francisco next month. The event kicks off with a keynote address on Monday, June 11. The conference is an opportunity for developers to attend workshops and discuss the future of building for iOS and OS X, but in years past it's also been the stage for major company announcements.

I'm a highly visual guy, and while there are all sorts of ways to work with files on my Mac, I still love cluttering up my desktop with folders, links, documents and photos. I treat my desktop like a table surface, and I have elaborate stacks and sections of folders and files.

Apple and Microsoft have kind of switched places with their recent operating system refreshes. Microsoft, which is dominant with PCs but anything but on tablets and smartphones, is leveraging its smartphone platform heavily to create a new PC product. Apple, which is a small player with PCs but massively dominant with smartphones and tablets, is keeping the two technologies at arm's length.

Later in 2012, we'll see the arrival of two major operating systems: Microsoft Windows 8, a preview of which was offered to the general public earlier this week, and Apple's OS X Mountain Lion. Are we lining up for a major OS showdown? Or are we not comparing apples to apples?

Not long after I expressed my irritation and desire for a converged iOS and Mac OS X experience, Apple announced its OS X Mountain Lion sneak peek. I claim no influence over Apple, of course, just the fact that OS X Mountain Lion is bridging the rift between iOS and Mac OS X. Of the 10 major new sneak-peek features revealed by Apple, seven are freaking awesome.

Apple let OS X Lion out of its cage just last July, but the company's already started talking up the next version of its operating system, which it'll call "Mountain Lion." The details and developer preview that Apple has come out with indicate that even more iOS DNA is being mixed into OS X this time around, with more shared features and functions.

Apple revealed on Thursday a developers' preview of the next version of its OS X operating system, and it's loaded with some of the features found in the company's popular iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Parts of the OS X refresh, called "Mountain Lion" and expected to be released in late summer, will be deja vu for users of Apple's mobile products. A new messaging app will replace iChat.

Lately I've found myself more frequently irritated and dissatisfied with my Mac than ever before. This is a weird feeling, made all the more powerful by the fact that Mac OS X Lion is the most useful operating system ever. With a simple two-fingered swipe on my Magic Mouse, I can flick my entire screen to a whole new desktop view, and with a swipe in the other direction, go back.

2011 was a big year for Apple fans. Maybe not as big as the introduction of the iPhone or iPad, but a lot of amazing things happened, and the company gathered an astounding amount of momentum. Of course, 2011 was also the year Apple CEO Steve Jobs died.

I got interested in personal computing before I became interested in technology, and I used my Mac SE 20 almost entirely as a word processor. I'd tried using PCs, but the arcane command and file structures seemed more of a hindrance than a help to my writing.
In contrast, the Mac was a revelation that fully deserved its "the computer for the rest of us" sobriquet. Quite simply, it worked.

New announcements surrounding the hotly anticipated iCloud service and speculation on the success of iPhone 5 sales helped Apple soar to the top of the market again this week, but looming patent lawsuits and a critically praised Windows 8 OS preview are keeping the company on its toes moving forward. Apple once again topped big oil in market valuation Monday, closing at an all-time high of $411.63.

A new version of Parallels Desktop, the software that allows you to run multiple operating systems on your Mac simultaneously, was released this week. This latest edition of the popular virtualization software, which is on more than 3 million desktops worldwide, has more than 90 new and enhanced features, as well as a new mobile app that runs on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

I'll admit, for a few hours, especially when TextEdit and Preview were crashing upon launch and I was having trouble adjusting to the new "unnatural" direction of mousing, I thought I had made a terrible mistake upgrading to Mac OS X Lion on launch day. How was I going to get any work done? With 250 new features, Lion offers a solid upgrade, especially when you consider the price is just $29.99.

Apple finally pushed out a much-anticipated raft of new products this week. Its new desktop OS, OS X Lion, had been promised for a July release last month at the Worldwide Developers Conference, and some Mac followers had been getting downright antsy for a new MacBook Air, which also touched down.

There's a lot to love and like about Mac OS X Lion, but it's far more disorienting and confusing than I ever imagined. I've been using Macs since the early 1990s, and I faithfully upgrade to new versions of the operating system quickly. The original Mac OS X was a pretty big leap, but Lion, it sure seems now, offers more in the way of interaction transformation than I ever expected.

Apple released its long-awaited Mac OS X Lion operating system Wednesday, together with a lineup of new MacBook Airs, a refresh to the Mac mini line, and the world's first display using the next-generation Thunderbolt port. Thunderbolt technology will offer up to 10 Gbps of access speed in each direction simultaneously over one cable.

There's been quite a bit of good news for Apple investors over the past week, with two possible exceptions: the announcement Tuesday that Ron Johnson, the company's head of retail, is leaving for JC Penney; and survey results from ABI Research that suggest roughly half of all consumers don't find tablet computers to be much of a turn-on.

The WWDC keynote has come and gone, but strangely enough, Apple gave us no new toys to go out and buy. There were no new iObjects gracing the stage this time around at the opening of its developer conference -- guess iPhone 5 will just have to wait until fall. But WWDC is technically a software conference, and there was a lot Apple wanted to talk about in that category.